Lost Art of Mystery

A loud hissing noise filled the air as massive metal double doors were unlocked and the vacuum seal released. The taller man turned to the shorter one, motioning towards the entry with a gloved hand as the dimmed lights went up. A vast immaculate interior revealed seemingly endless rows of hospital beds containing bodies. Neat and tidy, the pale blue, pink and green forms were laid out in lines and groups, each marked with letters and numbers. Stat panels blinked on the end of each bed, and the walkway was delineated with red lights.

“C-24”, yes, that, I believe is your designated body. Let me double check the details. The tall figure pulled out a micro thin screen from a side pocket on his grey jumpsuit and scrolled quickly through a long list to pause and confirm. “Yes, C-24. A kidney for a Thomas Borden, and that would be you. Right this way.”

Thomas followed dutifully behind the tall man, sucking in his protruding stomach as they wove in-between and up and down aisles. They passed bodies arranged in order, color coded and numerical, finally arriving at C-24. A blue bed with a slightly small body, but still an adult. “Here we are. This is it. Once you confirm the final documents, we will proceed to begin the harvesting and you will be able to have the transplant done in our surgical facility within hours. It is noted that you prepaid, so you will only have a nominal fee which covers our disposal costs. You know, the post surgical detritus and riddance of the body, of course.”

After a few moments of silence, “May I see the face?”, Thomas whispered nervously to the tall man. “Absolutely not. I’m sorry, we have laid out our rules specifically in all documentation. You signed off on not only an NDA, but also on a form stating that you would accept the organ without knowledge about the body it came from. All you need to know, is that this is the optimal organ for your condition. We provide harvesting, implantation and of course a guarantee. That is, if you have any rejection occur. Here at the Body Farm, we are proud to be able to claim a 98% success rate, in other words, a 2% rejection rate. This is unprecedented success in the field of harvesting. We have won prestigious awards for our precision and top quality organs. But, you already know this. That is what you paid for. The best of the best. Life itself.

Thomas felt his heart race as he stared down aisle after aisle of uniform bodies shrouded in pink, blue and pale green sheets. The air was frigid and he felt paralyzed with something akin to excitement, or was it fear? He slowly turned to the tall man, and the man reached out a gloved arm, “Congratulations, you are one step closer to optimal health.” Thomas felt the strong grip on his own gloved arm and smiled from beneath the mask, being sure to demonstrate a semblance of gratitude using his eyes.